Ingenico Launches New Payment Platform For Travel Companies

Global payments provider Ingenico Group has launched TravelHub to connect travel companies with end-to-end payment processing across Asia, Latin America and Europe.

With TravelHub, travel companies can access more than 150 payment methods with smart transaction routing capabilities intended to improve conversion rates, the company said in a press release.

Ingenico’s TravelHub will integrate with the leading airline global distribution systems (GDS) and hotels’ property management systems (PMS). A direct connection to global payment capabilities will also be offered.

“Ingenico’s TravelHub helped us to increase authorization rates and revenue significantly, and supported our expansion to new countries,” said Kevin Weber, chief projects officer and chief information officer at Viva Air, who has already been using TravelHub.

This new solution is indicative of Ingenico’s increased focus on travel, an industry where it already has a long history of working with airlines, hotels and online travel agents (OTAs).

Gabriel de Montessus, SVP of global online for Ingenico Group, said the solution “… helps travel companies increase revenue from online channels.”

Eric Liebman, global head of travel at Ingenico ePayments, said TravelHub helps OTAs “… navigate the complex technology ecosystem while growing quickly in a very competitive space.”

In the age of eCommerce and digital payments, the global travel industry is undergoing significant disruption. At the same time, more consumers are living as so-called “digital nomads,” or otherwise finding new ways to see and experience the world.

Payments are not only a part of the travel business – they are an important and increasingly complex part of the mobile era. But airlines and hotels are not payments companies. Travel payments often come in through multiple touchpoints, feature frequent adjustments and involve a host of cross-border transactions. Not only is it hard work, but it’s also expensive.

According to a study, 5.4 percent ($74.5 billion) of global travel sales are going toward payment services providers. However, despite the knowledge that innovation is necessary on multiple fronts within the industry, the pace has been slow in recent years. Around 40 percent note they find it extremely challenging to manage their relationships with multiple payment service providers.